Dwyane Wade on hip injury: ‘I’ll be good for Game 6′

DALLAS – Dwyane Wade avoided the details of an injury he suffered during Thursday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat superstar injured his hip during a collision with Dallas Mavericks forward Brian Cardinal in the first quarter. Wade returned to the locker room twice and did not start the second half.

“It was unfortunate that I had to leave the game, but I came back and I finished it,” he said. “I’ll be fine Sunday. … No problem at all. I’ll be good for Game 6.”

The veteran guard steered clear of making excuses, despite admitting that he was not 100 percent.

“I’m smart enough to play the game without obviously being 100 percent,” he said. “That’s all I did when I came back. I wanted to help us get back in this ballgame, and I was able to be effective in a sense.”

Wade finished with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 15 of those points coming after the injury.

None of the Mavericks seemed to be feeling sorry for the player that was so effective during the 2006 Finals when the Heat defeated the Mavericks in six games.

“When he came back in the game, he came back aggressive,” Jason Terry said. “So I don’t know if he was hurt or what. To us it doesn’t matter. He was on the floor. He got opportunities. He drove to the basket. So he’s a tough cover. If he’s out there, he’s a threat.”

Rick Carlisle gave his shortest response during the media session when asked about Wade’s injury. The Mavericks coach quickly pointed out that Mike Miller drilled consecutive three-pointers while filling in for Wade to open the second half.

“I mean, (Wade) was still driving it good and getting to the free throw line,” Carlisle said. “I’m not sure what happened to him. The guy that started for him hit two threes that started the half. Didn’t look like they lost a whole lot.”